The Friday Night Knitting Club

Last holiday season, my aunt got me two books, because she knows what I bookworm I am. So I reread (while reading another book called The Host, which I am about one day away from being done with, and will be blogging about then) The Friday Night Knitting Club. It is such a great but sad read, but I highly recommend it.

In the book, there is this mom, Georgia, who runs a knitting store while trying to raise her daughter by herself. Her daughter, Dakota, is an avid baker and loves to try out new treats on the knitting group that meets in her moms store every Friday night. But after many years of absence, Dakota's father suddenly reappears and wants a role in his daughters life. So, Georgia reluctantly allows James to get involved and do things with Dakota. Things get more and more complicated between Georgia and James while the novel progresses. There are a lot of really hilarious moments in the book that make you laugh, but there are also some very sad moments that will make your heart go out to these characters.

Overall, I would suggest this book, even to people who aren't knitters. It is well worth the read.

Music Monday - Heart

Let's face it - girl rockers are awesome. And the ladies from Heart can totally wail. They are two of the awesomest (ok, laugh at the bad word) ladies in rock. So today, they are Music Monday pick, so get out and listen to some of their music, found on the following awesome discs:

A Lovemongers Christmas
Jupiters Darling
Alive in Seattle
The Essential Heart
Greatest Hits 1985-1995
Greatest Hits
The Road Home
Desire Walks On
Rock the House Live!
Brigade
Bad Animals
Heart
Passionworks
Private Audition
Greatest Hits/Live
Bebe Le Strange
Dog and Butterfly
Magazine
Little Queen
Dreamboat Annie

Music Monday - Foo Fighters

Back in "the day" there was a young, brown haired drummer named Dave Grohl. He played in a band called Nirvana. But then there came a little incident known as the Kurt Cobain suicide. This left the amazing and talented Grohl without a band to play in. So, being the multi talented musician that he is, Grohl started another band, for which he played guitar and was the lead singer. That band became known as the Foo Fighters. They can also be described as the best band to come one of the 90s. They are amazing. Being the Foo Fighters junky that I am, I highly recommend that you listen to every album they made over and over and over again! They are all great!

Foo Fighters
The Colour and the Shape
There is nothing left to Lose
One by One
In Your Honor
Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
Skin and Bones

For the Love of Yarn

As I was contemplating knitting and it's importance in the lives and societies of so many people, I started thinking about when my grandma taught me to knit. I was 20, and looking for a creative hobby. I already "knew" how to crochet. I say that in quotations because I learned how to crochet when I was 11, and while I can whip out a shady looking scarf, my crocheting abilities are mediocre at best. So I never really played with yarn all that much. Until that cold day the beginning of January when my grandma handed me my first pair of knitting needles.

She had some purple yarn that she wasn't going to use. So, she started by casting on enough stitches to make a scarf. Then she showed me how to do a couple stitches, and handed the needles over to me. And it was the easiest thing I have ever learned. I slipped the needles through the stitches, and could tell that this love affair I was starting with these sticks and yarn would not end.

I kept going and going, and when the first shade of purple ran out, I added another shade of purple and ended up with the first scarf I ever made. I still have it, and although I don't wear it too much anymore (I've got so many scarves that I alternate...) I love it, because it reminds me of something that started as a simple little hobby, and has blossomed into the love of a lifetime.

Scarf Madness

Pink Baby Blanket Fun

That Big Brown Blanket

Go Halloween!

I LOVE Halloween. It is possibly the best holiday ever. So, in honor of this great, great holiday, I am going to be offering a sale in my etsy shop. For today only, through midnight, get free shipping and a 10 % discount on your purchase! Hurry though, because once midnight hits, this sale is over :)

What Would Emma Do?

I read a book this weekend (one of many) called What would Emma Do, by Eileen Cook.

The book centers around a teenager named Emma who sort of struggles with what she believes and what she wants to do in her life. She lives in a very conservative, religious town and thinks it's pretty weird that everyone always says that they follow the Bible and Jesus for what they believe instead of making up their own minds. She also thinks it sucks that all the people in town who say they believe in Christianity are basically hypocrites and liars who turn the other cheek when something they don't like or don't want to stand up to happens.

Emma knows that she wants to get out of the little town of Wheaton, Indiana after she graduates and experience her life for herself. So she spends her time training very hard for track in hopes that she will get a full athletic scolarship to Northwestern.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Even though it is written for teenagers, I think that people of all ages would enjoy it

Charlie Bone

I finished The Penultimate Peril and the first volume of Me and my brothers. The Penultimate Peril was good, but I was disappointed with the ending. Overall though, there was a little drama, adventure, intrigue and a healthy dose of new words.

Now I've moved on to Midnight for Charlie Bone, by Jenny Bone. I am still in the prologue, but its good. It is sort of a fantasy novel that is first in a series. Seems a little trippy, but it seems good.

The Penultimate Peril and Me and my Brothers

I was reading this morning for the 24 hour read-a-thon, and being the big geek that I am, I am already halfway through The Penultimate Peril, and Me and My brothers Vol 1 because I have been darting between the two.

However, I might have to abandon them for a bit because I just picked up The Host, Stephenie Meyers new book, from the public library, and it looks soooo good. If it's as good as Twilight, I'll probably finish it in one day.

24 Hour Readathon

So, I was looking at a book blog site I am on, and I read about something called the 24 hour readathon. I thought, what is this curious 24 hour readathon thing? So, I went and checked out their website and... signed up to join in on this nice little readathon. It goes from October 24 to October 25, and readers are free to read what they want and for however long out of the 24 hour period they want. So, I wrote down a list of books I'd like to read during this period. Keep in mind, there's no way I'll get through all these books, but at least I'll have a variety to keep me occupied for however long I sit around and read. This is a bookworms dream come true :)

Millie’s Fling
The Shack
What would Emma Do?
Miss Match
ReMatch
Match Point
The Penultimate Peril
The End
Me and My Brothers Volume 1
Me and My Brothers Volume 2
Me and My Brothers Volume 3
Me and My Brothers Volume 4
Midnight for Charlie Bone
Charlie Bone and The Time Twister
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Horse and His Boy
The Magicians Nephew
The Last Battle

Book(s) of the Day - Me and My Brothers (Series)

I don't usually read manga, but something about the humor in the Me and My Brothers Series, by Hari Tokeino, caught my attention.

The story revolves around a 14 year old girl and her four half brothers. She was raised by her grandma because her parents died when she was young. But then her grandma passed away too, so the four brothers she never met get the task of coming to live with her and raise her.

The story contains some drama, as any family story does, but it also has its fair share of funny situations that are bound to arise in this type of situation.

If you want a cute, funny read, I suggest checking this series out.

Book of the Day - The Green Guide

Ok, this technically isn't a novel. No, the Green Guide is just that, a great guide for ways you can make your home greener. It is written by the editors of the magazine, Green Guide and the forward is written by Meryl Streep, which seems appropriate since she is one of the founding members of said magazine.

The Green Guide has tips about which types of cleaners to use in your house. There are great ideas for cleaning the bathroom, the kitchen or even your dirty laundry. There are tips about food, buying locally, etc. They recommend going veg, but if you eat meat, they give advice about which is the safest to eat and where to get it.

There are so many more tips in this great book, I don't even know where to start, other than to recommend that you check this book out and use their tips! Everything we can do to be green is a great choice

Book(s) of the Day - LOTR Trilogy

Ok, I admit, I am a big Lord of the Rings geek. I LOVE these books. I've also seen all three movies and enjoyed them immensely. So, it seems right to have this humble series as book(s) of the day.

The series of course, is really introduced in The Hobbit, but one can easily read the LOTR trilogy without having read The Hobbit.

The story, for those unfamiliar (though it's hard to imagine world without people who have at least a little knowledge of LOTR) revolves around the "young" hobbit Frodo and his fellowship who go on a journey to rid Frodo of the one ring in the fires of Mordor. There are so many twists and tales and amazing plot points throughout, that it would be impossible to detail everything in these stories. So, if you've never read these books, get to a library and check them out! You won't regret it.